Ballroom dancing back in style, up in enrollment
By Beth Hege
f moo id Contribute*
What comes around, goes
around, and around, and
around, in this <ase. it also rum
bas. waltzes and cha-chat has.
Ballroom dance is back in style,
and students at the University
are twitching the romance
A quick look at dance depart
ment figures shows that five
years ago, during winter term,
HI) students took two sec
tions of Ballroom I Ballroom II
wasn't even offered.
This term, the University has
doubled the courses and dou
bled the enrollment. That trans
lates into four sections of Ball
room I with 141 students, and
24 enrolled in Ballroom II
"Ballroom is definitely in,"
said ballroom dunce instrui (or
last? Sherry
( .lasses are held in u third-lev
el Gerlinger Annex gymnasium
A far cry from the elegant liall
rooms of New York. Paris or
Portland the room with its gray
concrete walls and climbing
equipment still offers the essen
tial elements for any tango, pol
ka or swing: u smooth floor and
a record player blasting big bund
music.
Only the sounds of footsteps
and laughter manage to cut
through the si lima It zy tunes of
yesteryear
"When I am out there. I'm
always smiling." said Chan
Armsbury, a senior in romance
languages. "It's fun to struggle
through the steps. You can
laugh because everyone is on
the same level, making the same
mistakes
At first, people dance like
they ar»» wearing ski boots. They
plod along awkwardly and with
heavy steps Rather than gliding
through tile waltz or fox trot.
' PtJ3o Dy Aomori) Forney
Ballroom dance instructor Use Sherry matches at two students walk through a dance step. Many students
begin the clast with two left feet, but anyone who can count can ballroom dance. Sherry said.
inoii drive itieir partners around
tike bumper cars, with sudden
starts, stops and the occasional
outright collision.
"Sometimes it takes a while
for it to get from their head to
their foot.'' Sherry said. "People
have come into my class with
two left feet, but by the end of
the term, they are completely
different."
Sherry said anyone who t an
count (.an ballroom dance.
ballroom dance offers wide
appeal, and 53 majors are repre
sented in this term's enrollment
figures A good number are
undergraduate undeclared
majors, but psychology, pre
business administration and
architecture departments made
a strong showing.
In liallroom I. nearly a third of
the students are freshmen. Ball
room 11 students, however,
include only three underclass
men. The other 21 are seniors,
juniors, law and graduate stu
dents.
Justin Erickson, a senior in
telecommunications and film,
said ho took Ballroom I to spend
more time with his girlfriend.
Many couples do this but find
they have to switch partners
periodically in class.
"I don't like it when t have to
dance with guys," he said
Erickson's class is one of the
few gender-imbalanced classes
where men are the majority.
The resurgence of ballroom
dance is a trend that has cap
tured more than just University
students.
Films like Strictly Ballroom
and Damon are stealing the sil
ver screen, and in major cities
throughout the United States,
flashy disco lights have been
replaced with chandeliers and
hardwood floors. New Jersey
even has a 24-hour "Dial-a
Dance" hotline that lists social
dances.
According to a recent issue of
lournal of Popular Culture. ball
room is back in stylo for a sim
ple reason: it's romantic,
University junior and rumba
amateur |ason Tilley agreed.
"It's suave." he said. “If you
want to romance someone, ball
room dance with them. Look
right into their eyes."
Tilley extended his arms as
though holding a partner, took
a few gliding sidesteps and
smiled. "I like to lead, to see
how much of a cheesy romantic
I can be." he said.
Freshman Kiini Jellum said
she likes dancing with a strong
load and that ballroom dance
evokes images of royalty for her.
"It's something a prince and
princess would do." Jellum said.
For some students, learning to
fox trot and waltz isn't so much
a part of the romantic realm as
the practical.
Andrea Htimmon, a pre-busi
ness administration major, said
she is taking the class to gain
social graces.
"My dad is involved in a lot
of social events, and l don’t
want to keep walking over oth
er people's feet." Hummon said.
"A lot of my friends are getting
married. I have a large family
and have to go to a lot of wed
dings. Kveryone needs (to know
how to dance) at one time or
another."
A Ph.D, candidate in comput
er science. A.V.S. Sastry also
said he "needed" ballroom
dance, not for social reasons, but
for a change of pace from his
research.
"I wanted to do something
totally different." he said. "It's
fun to mingle with the rhythm. I
love the swing."
The following incidents ware reported to the Univer
sity Office of Public Safety and the Kugene police
department Mnn:h t-7.
• The Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. 791 K. 15th Ave..
rejxirted a burglary March 2. The burglary occurred dur
ing winter break, according to police reports. The fra
ternity reported 11 kitchen knives, a juice machine and
two cordless drills missing. A window and a freezer
d(Mir were damaged in the break-in. Tire total estimated
loss is $1,770, according to police reports.
• Four University students wore cited for their roles
in a party on the 1100 block of Mill Street March 7.
Police responded to a complaint of a loud party and cit
ed one student for furnishing alcohol to minors, one for
noise disturbance and two others for minor in posses
sion of alcohol.
Officers said they arrived at thelvarty and saw numer
ous minors drinking in the backyard. According to
police reports, when the suspected minors saw the
police officers, someone said. "Cops! I.et‘s get out of
here." They threw down their cups of beer and ran
inside the house One of the officers contacted a student
who lived at the house and cited him for noise distur
bant u Another officer cited two students who wore
underage for minor in possession of alcohol.
The fourth student, who also lived at the residence
hut was not at the party, was cited the next day for fur
dishing alcohol to minors. According to police reports,
the fourth student was cited because his name was on
the keg receipt. The student told police he was feeling
ill the night of the party, so he went to his girlfriend's
house instead of attending the party.
• An incident of criminal mischief was reported
March 7 on the 1300 block of Ferry Street. A suspect
smashed a window out of a car and stole a fanny pack
that contained more than 100 keys. The keys belonged
to a maintenance worker, and the total loss was valued
at S300.
• Three University students were cited March 7 for
minor in possession at the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. 1009
Patterson St. Police were responding to a noise com
plaint when they observod that some of the people at
the parly looked underage. According to police reports,
the three women who were cited admitted drinking
freer at the party.
• A 25-year-old military deserter was arrested on the
1300 block of Patterson Street March 8. Police were
responding to a call that the man was threatening to
commit suicide. When police contacted the man, he
told them the name of his doctor. Police contacted the
doctor and found out the suspect was a military desert
er. After a hospital observation, the suspect was judged
not to be a threat to himself or others and was taken to
jail on a federal military hold.
• A 20-year-old man was arrested and cited for using
an invalid driver's license, minor in possession of alco
hol and providing false information to police March 8.
A police officer who was on the 800 block of East 12th
Avenue observed a man run onto the Northwest Chris
tian College campus and hide in the bushes. When the
officer approached the man, he smelled of alcohol and
was having trouble standing. According to police
reports, the man handed his wallet to the officer when
the he asked for identification.
According to police reports, the man had three IDs in
his wallet with his picture and different names on
them. Police said the man had one fake II) to get into
bars, another fake University ID that he used to ride the
bus and a third legitimate ID that was his own.
r
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